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Pendulum Painting Made Easy

Learn about the forces of motion and gravity with a new painting technique by exchanging the paint brush for a swinging pendulum. Engage your child with the combination of art and science for a STEAM learning activity.

STEAM is the combination of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math. While you may be aware of the popularity of STEM learning, we believe “A” for Art should be added to create STEAM. It is with the addition of creative and critical thinking that will help your child be a successful problem solver and thinker.

The Science Behind Pendulum Painting

A pendulum is a fixed object hung from a point so it can swing freely back and forth due to the force of gravity. When discussing the concept with children a great example to use is a swing. As a the swing moves back and forth it is demonstrating the physics of a pendulum. The swing is moving back and forth due to the force of gravity on the swing.

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

Materials

Foam or Paper Cup, Scissors, String, Tape, 2 Chairs, Broom, Large Paper (We used a roll of brown craft paper), Plastic Tablecloth or other drop cloth

Tutorial

Step 1: Prep the workspace by covering the floor with a drop cloth.  Prep the pendulum by poking a hole in the bottom of the paper cup and one hole on each side of the cup underneath the rim. Tie a piece of string through the two holes on the side of the cup creating a handle for the cup.

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

Step 2: Place the broom horizontal across between the two chairs and slide the string tied cup to the middle of the broom.

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

Step 3: Before adding paint to the cup, test your pendulum with water. This is an easy way to make sure your work space is covered before adding paint. It also allows your artist time to experiment with swinging the cup.

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

Once your child is ready, place a piece of tape covering the bottom hole of the cup and fill the cup with a mixture of washable paint and water. It may depend on the thickness of your paint but we used a 2:1 ratio, 2 parts paint to 1 part water. Roll out and place your paper underneath the pendulum.

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

Remove the tape and swing the cup. Observe what patterns the pendulum creates on the paper.

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

Step 4: Let the painting dry completely.

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

Experiment with different timing of swinging the cup, different lengths of string, or lowering and raising the cup.

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

Afraid of the Mess?  Try it Outside!

This project can get a bit messy (but with a drop cloth it was very easy to clean up).

If the ideas of painting inside scares you…try taking the pendulum painting outside. We used a DIY washable sidewalk paint to test the pendulum outside.

DIY Washable Sidewalk Paint Recipe

1/3 c. of cornstarch

1/3 c. of water

tablespoon of Washable Paint

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl. Be sure to test the paint in a small spot first to make sure it will wash off. We have found some different brands of paint wash off easier than others.

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

STEM Activity: Pendulum Painting

Questions to Ask Your Child:

  • What pattern is the pendulum making with the paint?
  • What happens if you swing the pendulum gently or swing it more forcefully?
  • What does the painting look like or remind you of?

For more fun, hands-on STEAM activities check out our best-selling book!

STEAM Kids Book Formats

STEAM Kids Project Collage

 

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Filed Under: STEAM Activities

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jill @ Do Try This at Home says

    January 19, 2015 at 7:23 AM

    Looks like a FUN project! What type of paint did you use? Just tempra?

    Reply
    • Jamie Hand says

      February 5, 2015 at 7:38 PM

      Yes, we used a washable tempera paint mixed with a splash of water so that is is a bit runny and easy to pour out. It was fun and surprisingly not all that messy!

      Reply
  2. Molly Montgomery says

    January 27, 2015 at 6:32 PM

    Absolutely fantastic. I currently run a before and after school care privately from my home and find craft for boys quite challenging. THANK YOU

    Reply
    • Jamie Hand says

      February 5, 2015 at 7:36 PM

      Thank you for commenting! We had a lot of fun with this activity!

      Reply
  3. heather says

    June 24, 2015 at 3:31 PM

    I really wanted to try pendulum painting and I was thinking of buying pvc pipes to be able to do it. Thanks to your site I save a bunch of money and time, thank you!

    Reply
    • Jamie Hand says

      June 26, 2015 at 12:58 PM

      Oh, yay! Let us know how it goes!

      Reply
  4. Mother of 3 says

    January 2, 2016 at 12:28 PM

    So fun; but I think we’ll wait for summer and try this outside. I can really see my boys getting into this project!

    Reply
    • Jamie Hand says

      January 18, 2016 at 7:26 PM

      It really is a great project to try outside especially in the summer! Thank you for commenting. 🙂

      Reply
  5. Brandy says

    January 14, 2016 at 8:28 AM

    This would awesome to make t – shirts with dye! I’m thinking a galaxy type design.

    Reply
    • Jamie Hand says

      January 18, 2016 at 7:21 PM

      Oh, I love that idea. Let me know if you try it! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Jeanine says

    August 10, 2017 at 2:06 PM

    Jamie! It takes a lot to move my little one that’s growing up too quickly, to do art projects much any more. It has to be exciting! Looking at those results on paper I am convinced this is an activity we must do. Perfect timing as we’re prepping the brains for Back2School too! TFS!

    Reply

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